"He was being very mean" – Ex-WWE star on Shawn Michaels getting sent home
Shawn Michaels was one of WWE's top main-eventers in the 1990s. In a recent video, former WWE star Stevie Richards recalled how The Heartbreak Kid was once sent home due to his behind-the-scenes behavior at a show.
Richards grew up as a huge Michaels fan and credits the two-time WWE Hall of Famer for inspiring him to become a wrestler. When the former ECW talent began working for WWE, he planned to introduce himself to Michaels before noticing he was clearly in a bad way.
On The Stevie Richards Show, Richards said Michaels was behaving in a "belligerent" manner and appeared to have some issues:
"He was mean, dude. He was being very mean. You could tell. The eyes were glazed over, the eyes were like beady, squinting, and just stumbling a little bit." [1:32 – 1:42]
Richards was unsure whether Michaels' problems were alcohol or drug-related. He added that the former WWE Champion was not seen again that night after being spoken to about his antics:
"They pulled him back and there was maybe an office or the hallway behind where the monitor was open by Gorilla [backstage area], and then I didn't see him for the rest of the time," Richards continued. "I think they just sent him home." [2:15 – 2:26]
Michaels initially retired from wrestling in 1998 due to a serious back injury. Four years later, NXT's current head booker returned to WWE in-ring competition and went on to wrestle until 2010. He also returned in 2018 for the infamous Crown Jewel tag team match.
When Stevie Richards introduced himself to Shawn Michaels
In 2002, Shawn Michaels defeated Triple H in his return match at SummerSlam. Richards was a WWE roster member at the time and finally got the chance to speak to his hero backstage.
The former Hardcore Champion amusingly reflected on how he ignored Triple H after the match:
"I went up [to Shawn Michaels], 'Hey, man, great match,' and I think Hunter [Triple H] was right next to him or like two down, getting cleaned up, and I just U-turned it and walked away and didn't say a thing to [Triple H]," Richards said. "So, any heat or anything Triple H did to me after that point, I probably deserved! I just completely no-sold him and ignored him." [6:03 – 6:26]
Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in history. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as an individual in 2011 and as a D-Generation X member in 2019.
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Please credit The Stevie Richards Show and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.